In many people who are profoundly deaf, the reason for deafness is absence of, or destruction of, the hair cells in the cochlea which transduce acoustic signals into nerve impulses. These people are thus unable to derive suitable benefit from conventional hearing aid systems, no matter how loud the acoustic stimulus is made, because there is damage to or absence of the mechanism for nerve impulses to be generated from sound in the normal manner.
It is for this purpose that cochlear implant systems have been developed. Such systems bypass the hair cells in the cochlea and directly deliver electrical stimulation to the auditory nerve fibres, thereby allowing the brain to perceive a hearing sensation resembling the natural hearing sensation normally delivered to the auditory nerve. U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,930, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, provides a description of one type of traditional cochlear implant system.
Typically, cochlear implant systems have consisted of essentially two components, an external component commonly referred to as a processor unit and an internal implanted component commonly referred to as a stimulator/receiver unit. Traditionally, both of these components have cooperated together to provide the sound sensation to a user.
The external component has traditionally consisted of a microphone for detecting sounds, such as speech and environmental sounds, a speech processor that converts the detected sounds, particularly speech, into a coded signal, a power source such as a battery, and an external transmitter coil tuned to a desired frequency of transmission.
The coded signal output by the speech processor is transmitted transcutaneously to the implanted stimulator/receiver unit situated within a recess of the temporal bone of the user. This transcutaneous transmission occurs via the external transmitter coil which is positioned to communicate with an implanted receiver coil provided with the stimulator/receiver unit. This communication serves two essential purposes, firstly to transcutaneously transmit the coded sound signal and secondly to provide power to the implanted stimulator/receiver unit. Conventionally, this link has been in the form of an RF link, but other such links have been proposed and implemented with varying degrees of success.
The implanted stimulator/receiver unit traditionally includes a receiver coil that receives the coded signal and power from the external processor component, and a stimulator that processes the coded signal and outputs a stimulation signal to an intracochlear electrode assembly which applies the electrical stimulation directly to the auditory nerve producing a hearing sensation corresponding to the original detected sound.
As previously mentioned, the most commonly accepted method of providing the implanted stimulator with power and information is to transmit RF-power via an inductively coupled coil system. In such a system, the external transmitter coil is usually positioned on the side of the users head directly facing the coil of the stimulator/receiver unit to allow for the transmission of the coded sound signal and power from the speech processor to the implanted stimulator unit. In this way the transmitter and receiver coils form a transformer allowing for the transfer of energy from the external processor unit to the implanted stimulator/receiver unit. Such transmitters usually have a coil formed by a small number of turns of a single or multi-strand wire, and a magnet at the hub of the coil. The magnet holds the transmitter coil in place due to magnetic attraction with the implant. The diameters of each coil are typically between 15 and 30 mm.
The geometric characteristics of the coils are usually set to ensure high power transfer efficiency, which is often determined by the distance between the coils. Often, to achieve a high amount of inductive coupling, the distance between the coils must be sufficiently small compared to the diameter of the coils, with a high amount of inductive coupling ensuring high power transfer efficiency. It is known to use tuned or tank circuits in the transmitter and receiver coils to transmit the power and data, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,880.
The present invention therefore provides an improved transmission device for use in transcutaneous communication of medical devices that overcomes a number of the problems intrinsic to earlier devices.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.